[CochiseG]

Hi I was cleaning my engine today and saw a drip of silicon or gasket thats yellow and its coming out of the crack between the top of the engine where the coils are and the upper block... Sorry not really sure about the terminology here. The drip is on the left side, facing the coolant expansion tank (1.8 L 2zr-fe)

The valve cover gasket was never removed unless some mechanic did it... Is it normal to have that little drip of yellow substance there? I thought a valve cover gasket would be black and under the valve cover, but maybe this was some kind of sealant used either during assembly or by a mech that worked on my car in the past...

Will add a picture soon ! But wait... I dont even have to go outside, I found a pic on the web with that exact thing so Im guessing its original...

Here it is :

I also couldn't get it quite clean as in this picture, the engine was covered with dust and black gunk (white spots that wont really go away and black oily dust, might only be from the roads... the back side of the hood had this too..) , is it a sign of a leak? or maybe thats because It might be lacking some shields down below (the damn mechs must have pulled them off to do theyre job quick and cheap ... LOL )

There wasnt a specific spot where there was more black gunk, except maybe one place under the hood that looks almost like its burned... !

Thanks all !

 

[75aces]

That's some type of sealant. The area you are looking at is where the timing cover and the head meet.

When replacing the valve cover, this is where you apply sealant on the front and the back side of the timing cover. It shouldn't be wet.

Edit : the valve cover gasket only provides so much coverage. The sealant makes up the difference and provides leak protection especially in this area. It's by design from Toyota to use sealant here.

 

[Vangm25]

Normal

 

[RollaRich]

My engine needs a serious cleaning like that. How'd you make it look so nice?

 

[CochiseG]

Hi rolla, this pic is from google, must be from a brand new car !

I used a spray bottle called "engine restorer" I think its a silicon based spray ... my engine looked good after that, but not like new like in the picture above

thanks 75ace, it makes a lot of sense ! I also note the alternator is just below that sealant, so I guess a leak there could ruin a lot of things haha

 

[SuperchargedMR2]

My engine needs a serious cleaning like that. How'd you make it look so nice?

I clean and wipe down my engine every time I wash my Corolla. It doesn't take much time to keep it looking good. This pic is with 104k miles on it.

 

[CochiseG]

with winters and salt mine cant look like this again

 

[SuperchargedMR2]

with winters and salt mine cant look like this again

I've always told myself that I would never live in an area where they used salt on the roads. If I had no choice, which is never the case, I would either be rinsing the underside of the car all the time or have a dedicated car just for winter that I didn't care about.

 

[Vangm25]

with winters and salt mine cant look like this again

I've always told myself that I would never live in an area where they used salt on the roads. If I had no choice, which is never the case, I would either be rinsing the underside of the car all the time or have a dedicated car just for winter that I didn't care about.

A garden hose and a leaf blower is all you need to clean the engine bay. It is always worth it, more so in the salt of the north. Getting a "top of the line" car wash that has underbody wash is also always worth it after a blizzard.